Undertale - It's always to soon
by Tortoise01Swe
Summary: You reached the surface once again. This time hopefully for good. Everyone is happy. But Sans soon realizes that his time might be closer than he first thought. And ultimately, it might lead to one of his deepest regrets. Afterall, saying goodbye to the one you loved the most has never been an easy job now has it? Based on two comics from Zarla on Deviantart.


This fanfiction is based on two comics from Zarla on deviantart.

I wrote this back in Mars but haven't really felt like uploading here for some reason.  
But it's here now. So no worries :)

Enjoy! 

* * *

**UNDERTALE - It's always to soon.**

"CMON SANS! WE'RE ALMOST TO THE TOP. "

It was night. It was their first real night on the surface. Sans had promised Papyrus he would take him out to watch the stars with him once it got dark. Papyrus had been thrilled beyond words, barely containing his joy as they all had made their way towards the city. Frisk had wanted to come along, but the others had stopped them and shaken their heads. They had noticed Sans quietness, he seemed troubled and the darker the sky got, the more silent he became. When the last rays of the sun's light shined upon them, Sans and Papyrus waved at the group as the made their way towards the large hill they had passed by earlier.

"you know…maybe you should…go on without me."

Why had he even asked Papyrus to come with him? It would have been so much easier just to go alone. For both of them. For all of them.

"WHY WOULD I DO THAT? YOU'RE THE ONE THAT LIKES STARGAZING SO MUCH. COME ON! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!"

Sans couldn't help but smile faintly. It was true. He had liked watching the painted stars in Waterfall through their telescope, wishing they had been real. He had enjoyed reading about them in their dad's science books and loved to talk about them and show all the constellations to Papyrus. He even told him his dream about seeing them when they were in the wishing room and even went so far as to promise Pap that he would one day take him out to watch them, once Asgore broke the barrier with the need of seven human souls.

But through each reset, the dream faded bit by bit. He could faintly remember a time when he had been as excited as Pap to see them. But after all, time changes. It's not really the same once you have seen them a hundred times before.

"nah…nah i'm not gonna make it."

He had known this, he had felt it just as they had emerged from the underground. He placed his right hand on his jacket. Just over the place where his soul rested.

"COME ON SANS, DON'T BE LAZY."

If he had the strength, he would have laughed. No matter what Sans went through. No matter what happened to him. Papyrus had always stayed the same; innocent and positive. He wished he always could stay like that. But he would now strip that last part of his little brother away. If he had had a heart, he was sure it would break at the thought.

He fell to his knees.  
"i'm not…gonna make it."

The second time was a faint whisper. Papyrus turned around.  
"SANS-"

He stopped mid-sentence. If there was a thought on his mind he didn't say it.  
Sans tried to stand up again, to show his brother he was fine. But it looked like the lies had finally caught up with him. He felt how his breaths came slower, how little oxygen he could inhale despite him being surrounded by it.

 _this is it then? this is where i finally fall._

He fell flat on his ribs. His face staring into the ground. He can't see Papyrus anymore. He thinks it's for the best.

Papyrus had always been good at reading expressions, even though Sans was better at understanding the reason behind them. He took proud in it and could easily detect the slightest of fear or sadness behind a masked face. So when Sans had pulled him away to scold him about facing the human despite his warnings not to, Papyrus had said something Sans would never forget:

"I'M SORRY SANS….BUT I WANTED TO HELP THE HUMAN. EVERYONE CAN BE GOOD IF THEY JUST TRY HARD ENOUGH. I KNOW IT. IT FELT….AS SOMETHING WAS TRYING TO BREAK FREE. LIKE SOMETHING WAS TRYING TO REACH OUT."

Papyrus had seen something in Frisk that no one else saw. Whatever it was Sans never figured out, but he never thought twice about it. That was the only reset the human had ever spared his little brother in their quest for power.

Sometimes he despised Paps ability to see past his mask and lies, but mostly he was thankful since it helped him to recover, if only for a while. He wondered what Pap saw when he looked at him now. Did he see a miserable skeleton lying face down in the dirt? A lazy bones for a brother? Or did he see Sans finally giving up?  
Sans did not want to know. He couldn't bare it along with the weight he was already feeling.

"…THEN I'LL CARRY YOU."

Sans could hear how the grass and leaves crunched as Pap walked slowly towards him. Even though his voice was gentle and kind he noticed that he trembled a bit more with his words. He swallowed.

"nah…you've been doing that long enough…"  
"….it's okay."

The last sentence he said to reassure Papyrus, but it felt more like he was trying to convince himself. He remembered how he had taken care of Papyrus when they were younger. But Papyrus had quickly outgrown him and now Sans was the one being carried around. Monsters often took for granted that Papyrus was the older of the two; the height, the constant carrying and looking out for Sans. Quite frankly, Sans didn't care. But he did agree that lately it felt as the roles were reversed. Sometimes he wished he could have been a better big brother and taken care of Paps more, but maybe he never was one to begin with.

"I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GIVE UP. COME ON."

Papyrus grabbed his left arm in a playful manner, trying to drag him up, but his voice was trembling now. Sans wished he could stand up, hug his brother and tell him things were going to be alright. But he couldn't feel his body anymore. He couldn't feel his ribs moving or his bones shaking. There was nothing he could do.

You simply couldn't stop the inventible

"we all gotta give up sometime you know…? ain't no way around it…"

How many times had he cheated death? How many times had he thought that this is it only to find himself waking up in his bed again? He had lost track by now.  
At some point, he got used to it. He got used to seeing his brother die, he got used to face and kill a murderous child, he got used to the feeling of falling apart and he got used to the resets.

He thought he would die when the kid got bored of him too and stopped resetting. He would never have thought in a million years that he was going to die from old age.  
Because that's what he is….old.

Skeletons are different in many ways compared to other monster species. Not only how they feel but also on how they look. On other monsters you can see when they are coming close to old age; their skin get wrinkles and fades, their hair (if they have any) loses its hue and falls off, they become more tired and can also lose weight.  
But Sans is a skeleton. They don't have skin, hair or muscles for that matter. They're just magic and bones. Of course he became more tired, but that was an easy thing to hide since he already took constant naps during the day.

He remember when he and Gaster had worked on that machine back in the day. How they had discussed the prospect of resets and the possibilities on how to use it.

(Reset is a good possibility, but it won't last in the long run.)

"enlighten me doc."

(The concept of transporting a being made of organic mass is based on the owner not suffocation any damage. But the damage would still be internal since we have a soul to think about. So it's inefficient.)

"but i thought the reset wouldn't affect the owner's body."

(That's true, but a soul isn't made out of organic mass. A monsters soul is almost completely made of magic, human souls are a bit more complicated to explain.)

"that makes sense… guess the machine is over-reacting a bit don'tcha agree?"

(Haha very funny Sans. But in the end magic is something you can't work around or cheat. The body itself won't age every time you reset, but the soul does. And we all know what happens when a souls magic fails its owner. Remember that Sans.)

The underground had reset, everyone's souls had aged. If it weren't for Asgore or Toriel being boss monsters they would both be dead by now. He remembered that old turtle monster, but those species are known for their long living souls.  
But nobody knows how long a skeleton could last. Gaster never reached his true end and there are no documentaries since skeletons are a very rare monster species.

Now it was just him and Pap left. And by tomorrow morning it would be just Pap.

It wasn't the dying part that scared him. He had had plenty of time worrying about that before.  
It was the goodbye part he couldn't face. He always took for granted that he was going to come back. That he was going to wake up, dress, and repeat the same things over and over again. But this time it was different. When the night dies, so would he. And nothing in the entire world could change that.

For the first time in his life, Papyrus would have to live on without his ketchup-loving, funny lazybones for a brother.

"SANS, YOU PROMISED YOU'D TELL ME ABOUT THE CONSTELLATIONS TONIGHT."

His voice was breaking. Sans tried again to feel the impulse to move his body but found none.

"heh, sorry….you know i'm no good with promises."

Gaster, Alphys, Undyne, Toriel, Frisk….Papyrus.  
He always seemed to break promises from those that meant the most to him.

"COME ON. GET UP."

He tried to sound angry. It didn't work. His voice betrayed him and the words fell on deaf ears. He heard how Papyrus fell to his knees.

"PLEASE."

Sans remember times Papyrus has said those words before. When he had his first nightmare and didn't want Sans to leave. When Gaster disappeared and he wanted to know what happened to him. When he first saw Sans power and begged him not to hurt him. But never had he sounded so lost, so defeated. It took all of Sans willpower not to cry out. He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave his brother behind. He didn't want to say goodbye.

He could faintly make out the feeling of two soft hands clinging to his sides. He felt how he slowly got up from the ground, how Papyrus was fumbling trying to get his head and body in the right position. His head landed on Paps left shoulder, and his entire body leaning into his chest armor piece they had made together. Something that happened weeks before but felt like another lifetime.

Papyrus held Sans tightly as they both together climbed the rest of the distance towards the top.  
Sans could feel how his tiredness grew, how the black spots became bigger and bigger. He didn't even notice they had made it until Papyrus sat down, legs stretched out with Sans in the middle, letting him lean onto him.

"SANS….LOOK."

Sans looked tiredly up and noticed the beautiful sight that shined down on them. He searched with his eyes, and when he found what he was looking for he used the last bit of strength he could muster. If he was going to fall, he at least wanted to keep one of his promises.

"papyrus…do you see that?"

Papyrus followed Sans finger and found it was pointing towards a set of stars that together formed a triangle.

"that is the capricorn, also known as the sea goat."

"SEA GOAT? DOESN'T SOUND VERY IMPRESSIVE."

"it is though, the sea goat are known for being a hard worker, they are very loyal and patient and always helps a friend in need. they never give up, even when they goat some serious problems."

"NYEHEHE!"  
"hehehehe."

Sans couldn't help but chuckle along faintly. He looked up at the stars again.

"and also there's hercules, gemini, pisces, leo and…"

He trailed off. He looked up and met his brother's eyes. Something started to burn behind his eye sockets.

"…i wish i could show you all of them…i wish-"

"SANS…"

"-i wish i could stay like this forever…."

"SANS…PLEASE DON'T….I – I CAN'T…."

"i'm sorry pap….i'm so sorry."

Whatever it was that Papyrus had tried to contain suddenly burst out. He hugged his brother with all his might as he sobbed violently into Sans shoulder, desperately trying to keep his big brother within his reach. Sans leaned onto him, wishing that there was something he could do. Funny, how easy it had been to turn his back on this world. But he could never turn his back on Papyrus, he could never give up on his brother.

"I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU SANS. I JUST CAN'T! WHAT ARE THE OTHER'S GOING TO THINK WHEN I RETURN? TORIEL, ASGORE, UNDYNE, ALPHYS, FRISK…?"

"they will come over it, the kid is strong. they won't give up just 'cause i turned into a bag of bones."

"I WON'T LET YOU GO! I REFUSE TO LET YOU GO!"

He could feel it now.

"pap…."  
"NO!"

Time was running out. There was so much he wanted to say. So many stories and secrets he wanted to share. So many words left unsaid. But there was only one that really mattered.

"pap….do you know how much i love you?"  
"NO….?"  
"a skele-ton."

It began with his legs.

"SANS!"

He could feel his soul failing.

"SANS NO! PLEASE NO!"

He met his brother's gaze one last time. They looked so broken, so empty. He suddenly felt scared, who would now read him bedtime stories? Who would now tell him stupid puns or admire him from a distance? Who would now protect his little brother from this cruel and dark world? Who would now be there, when he could not?

"PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Time never seemed to be on his side. Never enough time to stop his brother. Never enough time to save him. Never enough time to enjoy the surface. Never enough time to say goodbye. It always seemed too soon to say goodbye. He could feel his body breaking. His soul fading.

This is it.

Sans had fallen many times in his life. From fear, from pain, from failure. But never before had he fallen like this, so quietly and silent. He realized it wasn't so bad.  
The last thing he heard was a sound of anguish, erupting from his broken brother's throat.

...

The sun woke up. Sans was gone.

One month later

Papyrus walked up the hill, clinging to his brother in a tight grip. It was a lot easier to carry him now, but he had always preferred struggling a bit with his weight before.  
A chilly autumn breeze flew past him. He pulled the hoodie tighter, shivering a bit to the cold temperature. The dusk was just leaving and the stars emerging as he sat down at the top, putting down his brother between his legs like he always did.

He stared at sky, looking at each constellation, remembering their names and moved on to the next until he had counted them all. His eyes lingered the most on the Capricorn.  
"I DID IT SANS. I'VE LEARNED THEM ALL."  
He looked down at his brother's dust wishing with his entire soul that Sans could be there to share this moment with him. But at least it didn't hurt as much as it did before.

Everyone became heartbroken. Frisk never spoke to anyone for two days straight. Toriel cried a lot to herself but never showed it, but everyone knew anyway. Alphys, Undyne and Asgore all worked together with the humans on new projects and missions, drowning their sorrow in paperwork. Their first real mission was to build a memorial in honor of the little skeleton. It is still a work in progress.

But no one was as heartbroken as Papyrus.

The first day he just cried, he cried and cried until he couldn't feel anything anymore. Undyne being the second closest to him tried to cheer him up by training him again, making him forget if just for a little while.  
Eventually things had calmed down. All of them mourned, in their own ways. But things were at least looking up.

Papyrus gazed a little longer, before he stood up. He looks at the jar. He thinks he's ready. He opens the lock and takes a deep breath.  
He throws the dust out over the hill, most of it caught along in the wind. Papyrus watched solemnly as his brother flew silently through the night. He clutched the jacket hard.

"SLEEP WELL… BROTHER."

When he makes his way home, he feels that Sans will in one way always stay with him. 

He smiles. 

THE END


End file.
